villainsfandomcom-20200225-history
Dark Brotherhood
The Dark Brotherhood is a murderous group of assassins in the Elder Scrolls videogame series. The group is run like a cult unlike more traditional assassin groups. The ideology of the Dark Brotherhood places much importance on hierarchy and loyalty. Members tend to treat murder as either a skill, art or pleasure if not all three. The Dark Brotherhood believes they are agents of Sithis, an epitome of the primordial void of nothingness that predates creation, and believe that it is their sacred duty to send souls to him. History Founding The Dark Brotherhood was founded by the Night Mother, whose true name has been lost to history. Legend goes that The Night Mother bore five sons immaculately conceived in her through Sithis. Sithis then demanded tribute for the Night Mother to kill her children, a demand she quickly complied with. These five children are said to be the first Dark Brotherhood and where the term originated. In return for the tribute Sithis granted the Night Mother his voice and spoke to her from that day forth allowing her to act as his parley to the ears of mortals. There is much ambiguity as to whether or not this actually happened as the Night Mother was originally a supplicant to the Daedric Prince Mephela, arch-fiend of secrets and plots, and the Dark Brotherhood only became an organized group after she left the cult; But regardless of validity, the story of the Night Mother becoming the Dark Brotherhood's unholy Messiah after sacrificing her own sons to the void, is the Brotherhood's standard belief. The Black Hand and Dark Sanctuaries Whether the story of the Night Mother birthing and killing Sithis's children is myth or not the Night Mother her self is quite real, although long since dead, her ghost speaks to one member of the Dark Brotherhood only, this person is titled the 'Listener'. In honor of the Night Mother's five sons there are four colleagues that confer with the Listener, each is titled 'Speaker'. As the name implies the Speakers speak for the Dark Brotherhood and protect the Listener with their lives if need be as the Brotherhood's sole line to the Night Mother's spirit. Since the Speakers are the only ones who ever interact with clients seeking assassinations, recruit new assassins or appoint contracts to underlings, the identity of the Listener remains safely unknown to any mortal members outside the Listener him/herself and the Speakers. The Listener and his/her Speakers are referred to as "The Black Hand" - possessing four fingers and a thumb. However, each has a nail - a personal bodyguard, this agent is titled 'Silencer'. With the Speakers of the Black Hand as supreme commanders and the Listener as a the token silent leader the Dark Brotherhood calls for it's lower agents to do the actual work, their units are divided up all across Tamriel in various secret locations, each such locations is a hideout for the local talent and referred to as a 'Dark Sanctuary'. Dark Sanctuaries are very close-knit groups and each one has a Dark Sanctuary leader. The leader of each Dark Sanctuary is the only one to have any sort of official contact with the Speakers of the Black Hand. Since Dark sanctuary leaders are intimately familiar with their individual assassins of the Sanctuary they, assign cases based on each member's area of expertise matching the best agent for the job. Money payed by the client is split between the Listener, Speaker and Sanctuary Leader in addition to the actual assassin sent, although the assassin keeps the bulk of the pay out. Higher ups will give out bonuses for special order kills if the assassin proves skilled enough to meet the request. Known Members Lucien Lachance Race: Imperial. Position: Speaker. Preferred instrument of death: One-handed blades. Preferred method: Stealth. Unique skill set: Charisma and loyalty. Voice Actor: Wes Johnson. Lucien is a member of the Black Hand as one of its speakers, Lucien handles recruitment in Cyrodiil and assigns potential assassins to the sanctuary in Cheydinhal. Lucien is completely devoted to the Dark Brotherhood and the Night Mother. He is considered both an inspirational figure by the Brotherhood's lower-level assassins and an expert assassin by his peers. Lucian insists those that he works with are professionals and at least as loyal to the Dark Brotherhood as he is. Ocheeva Race: Argonian. Position: Sanctuary Leader. Preferred instrument of death: Daggers. Preferred method: Stealth. Unique skill set: Shadow Scale training. Voice Actor: Elizabeth Noone. Ocheeva is the Leader of Cheydinhal's Sanctuary. Ocheeva was trained as a Shadowscale with her brother Teinaava back in their home of Blackmarsh. As a Shadowscale Ocheeva was born under the sign of the Shadow, allowing her to become invisible once per day. Since she hatched Ocheeva was trained as an assassin and eventually her career brought her to Cheydinhal where she showed enough distinction to be promoted to the Sanctuary Leader. Ocheeva cares deeply for her fellow assassins as family but can distance herself from any one of them the instant they display a willingness to betray the Brotherhood. Teinaava Race: Argonian. Position: Sanctuary Leader's Right-Hand. Preferred instrument of death: Bow & Arrows. Preferred method: Long range take downs. Unique skill set: Shadow Scale training. Voice Actor: Jonathan Bryce. Teinaava is brother of and second in command to Ocheeva. Teinaava is a Shadowscale, like his sister, and can become invisible once per day. He gives advice on contracts, usually encouraging methods that minimize the risk of being discovered by guards and potential threats. Teinaava prefers his bow and arrow for use in the field so he can disappear into the shadows from afar once the target lies dead. Teinaava ingratiates himself to all new members as a loving family member. Vicente Valtieri Race: Breton. Position: Assassin Assessment. Preferred instrument of death: His own fangs. Preferred method: Magical Subterfuge. Unique skill set: Vampirism. Voice Actor: Ralph Cosham. Vicente is in charge of assessing new assassins. Vicente gives out low risk assignments jobs but intentionally adds challenging caveats to the jobs to detect real talent. Vicente is a Breton infected with vampirism, he is old enough to be apparently vampyric but overcomes his apparent undeath with magic and stealth. Vicente is fond of using illusion magic and conjuration and though he is strong willed enough to overcome his hunger for blood around his extended family Vicente is all too glad to feed off his targets. Vicente will offer new assassins with real talent a chance to be a vampire like him by sucking their blood in their sleep. Unsurprisingly Vicente is oldest member of his sanctuary. Antoinetta Marie Race: Breton. Position: Assassin. Preferred instrument of death: Swords. Preferred method: Close range. Unique skill set: Evangelism. Voice Actor: Catherine Flye. Antoinetta Marie is one of the low-ranking members of the Dark Brotherhood she is dispatched for various jobs with no specific set types of assignments earning her talents over others. Antoinetta prefers to use long swords and spends much of her time practicing her strike in the sanctuary. As her preferred weapons are short range, Antoinetta takes great pains to map-out her surrounding for the quickest routes to her target. Antoinetta relishes in her kills as a sort of holy work, believing that each kill brings her closer to Sithis. Antoinetta even sometimes claims right before a kill she sometimes feels the whispers of Sithis, who fills her with the transcendent joy of death. Antoinetta's work reinforces a state of inner-peace for her, which results in the kills themselves being the true reward of the contracts for her. Her continued emotional state requiring the maintenance through murder has ensured her complete loyalty to her sanctuary on a fundamental level as a true-believer. Telaendril Race: Wood Elf (Bosmer). Position: Assassin. Preferred instrument of death: Bow & Arrows. Preferred method: Poisoning. Unique skill set: Infiltration. Voice Actor: Linda Canyon. Telaendril is a Bosmer assassin that was assigned to Cheydinhal from her home in Valenwood. Lucien arrived to kill Telaendril for her father but Telaendril evaded him long enough to get away and decided to turn the tables and kill her father. Lucien, impressed with her skill at avoiding him and mindset at killing her own father made her an offer to join the Dark Brotherhood. Since joining, Telaendril has proven to be a master of intel-missions by posing as a normal citizen to gather information on her targets' schedules before striking - always from afar with deadly poisons spread across her arrows. Telaendril encourages her Dark Brothers and Sisters to use terrain to their advantage for sneaking to and away from their targets. She is in a relationship with Gorgron gro-Bolmog and despite their completely opposite kill styles, Telaendril finds Grogon's eagerness to murder targets in the most brutal manner possible as endearing. Gogron gro-Bolmog Race: Orc (Orsimer). Position: Assassin. Preferred instrument of death: Two Handed Battle Axe. Preferred method: Direct bloodshed. Unique skill set: Berserker strength and rage. Voice Actor: Jonathan Bryce. Gogron gro-Bolmog appears to be a former bandit turned Dark Brotherhood assassin. He is considered strong even for an orc and is master of two-armed weapons and heavy armor. Gogron does not concern himself with style, special conditions or even stealth, like his lover Telaendril, to Gongron all that matters is the target winds-up dead. Gongron moves quickly even in heavy armor and his usual method of attack is to smash in his target's skull or break their spine. Gongron does not understand much of the complexities of the Dark Brotherhood's theology but is happy that they appreciate his talents. Despite his sadistic nature Gongron is friendly and frank when advising his Dark Brothers and Sisters. M'raaj-Dar Race: Khajiit. Position: Mystical supplier/ assassin. Preferred instrument of death: Magic. Preferred method: Magic. Unique skill set: Mystical knowledge. Voice Actor: Jonathan Bryce. M'raaj-Dar is the Cheydinhal sanctuary's resident mage. He sells spells and enchanted items to his Dark Brothers and Sisters. M'raaj-Dar's spells and enchanted items are all specially crafted to be used for stealth, subterfuge or horrifying kill methods. While a loyal member of the Dark Brotherhood M'raaj-Dar does not trust new members of the Dark Brotherhood and can only be won over by those who prove themselves accomplished killers. M'raaj-Dar's preferred method in battle is to use destruction magic to blast his targets into dust and is fond of life-drain, frost and fire spells to do it. Astrid Race: Nord. Position: Sanctuary Leader. Preferred instrument of death: Daggers. Preferred method: Stealth. Unique skill set: Leadership skills. Voice Actor: Cindy Robinson. Astrid is leader of Skyrim's Falkreath Sanctuary. In Skyrim's era the Dark Brotherhood has fallen on hard times to the point where Astrid and her Sanctuary are the last collection of Dark Brotherhood assassins in Skyrim and possibly the world. Since there is no Black Hand Astrid acts as the highest ranking member of the Brotherhood and is not only her Sanctuary's leader but supreme commander as even the Night Mother has disappeared in the passing years. When Cicero arrives in the Sanctuary with the actual Night Mother seeking safety for her bones Astrid feels challenged by the new power structure but allows it out of respect to the Night Mother and confidence that she has her Sanctuary's complete loyalty. Astrid is fond of both stealth and skill though she ultimately only cares that jobs get done she admires those who do so with style. Arnbjorn Race:Nord. Position: Sanctuary Leader's Right-Hand. Preferred instrument of death: Two-Handed Blade. Preferred method: Direct. Unique skill set: Lycanthropy. Voice Actor: Michael "Popeye" Vogelsang. Arnbjorn is Astrid's husband and her second in command. Arnbjorn is a werewolf and a former member of the heroic mercenaries known as the Companions. It seems Arnbjorn became addicted to being made a werewolf by the Companion's inner-circle and either left or was cast out when his need for violence conflicted with the Companion's urge that members hold themselves to higher standards. Whatever the reason Arnbjorn departed the Companions and joined the Dark Brotherhood where he met and soon married Astrid. Arnbjorn likes to use the most finely honed two-handed weapons possible, to tear and bash his targets into piles of meat which he then enjoys eating in his werewolf form. Arnbjorn is suspicious of all new members and very protective of his wife. While as an assassin he is dangerous he turns into a outright force of death whenever his wife and family are threatened. Nazir Race: Redguard. Position: Assassin Assessment. Preferred instrument of death: Scimitars. Preferred method: Speedy take-downs. Unique skill set: Veteran Mercenary experience. Voice Actor: Erik Dellums. Nazir is a former Alik'r mercenary from Hammerfell but left them for matters he does not wish to discus with anyone. Nazir assigns contracts to new targets, all such missions are completely optional and simple but numerous. Nazir enjoys ribbing other members and likes to demean newer members to urge them to strive to be better with each job. Even though Nazir relishes in other forms of murder and even casually admits to killing his own father he does not enjoy speaking of his past and only makes vague references to some very bloody affair before he left the Alik'r, this may suggest some form of post-traumatic-stress-disorder. Nazir refers to other Alik'r and Redguards in general as lesser than himself. Nazir's preferred weapon, like the other Alik'r, is the Scimitar. He uses his blade with speed and moves over distances quickly thanks to his mastery of light armor. Thanks to his speed and experiences he is considered Astrid's trusted lieutenant with a critical nature that makes him a natural for assessing new talent. Babette Race: Breton. Position: Assassin/Alchemy supplier. Preferred instrument of death: Her own fangs. Preferred method: Subterfuge. Unique skill set: Vampirism/Child-like appearance. Voice Actor: Harley Graham. Babette is the Dark Brotherhood's oldest member and a master of alchemy and subterfuge. As a vampire Babette is a natural killer and licks her lips with each new assignment, but the real value is that she contracted vampirism as a child, which keeps her from physically aging and allows her to pose as an innocent little girl. According to her, she has been a vampire for over three hundred years. Babette may be the most crafty assassin of the Falkreath sanctuary, she uses trickery to lure her targets into isolated areas and then strikes drinking their blood and hiding the body. When not striking directly Babette uses her mastery as an alchemist to poison her foes' food and drink and often just strolls out of crime scenes with other local children while the guards attend to the bodies. Babette's poisons are not all her alchemy skill is good for, as she can also act as a medic for other members by mixing together potent potions, medicines and antidotes for her wounded Dark Brothers and Sisters. *Babette has access to a blood suck ability that lets her absorb a foe's health, a powerful necromancy spell that raises high level dead bodies as zombie minions, an invisibility spell and a high sneak stat however due to a flaw in Skyrim's programming can not employ them in battle instead having her behave in accordance to her graphic leaving her combat A.I. to make her act like a normal child. Gabriella Race: Dark Elf (Dunmer). Position: Assassin. Preferred instrument of death: Bow & Arrows. Preferred method: Poisoning/stealth. Unique skill set: Precognition. Voice Actor: Lani Minella. Gabriella is the Falkreath sanctuary's archery expert, she prefers to snipe her targets from a distant hidden location. Gabriella longs for the glory days of the Dark Brotherhood and eagerly welcomes the Night Mother to the Sanctuary when Cicero arrives with her. Gabriella likes to use terrain to her advantage and find isolated perches to snipe from to allow her time to escape if she is discovered after her target falls. She likes the finer things in life and views an assassination as good a time as any to enjoy them. Veezara Race: Argonian. Position: Assassin. Preferred instrument of death: Dual long-swords. Preferred method: Close range. Unique skill set: Shadow Scale training. Voice Actor: Tim Blaney. Veezara is the last of his kind - a Shadowscale. Though he was trained from birth to serve the the Dark Brotherhood for his ability to turn invisible once per day before being shipped off to Skyrim his talents appeared wasted for a long time before he met Astrid. As the last known Dark Brotherhood official Astrid represents Veezara's purpose in life and he is more than willing to give said life up to protect and serve her. Even among the Dark Brotherhood's complex hierarchy laws and enforcement of loyalty Veezara may be the most honorable of his brethren and looks out for his Dark Brothers' and Sisters' safety. Veezara is able to take on several town guards at once. In addition to his natural born ability to turn invisible Veezara is good at stealth and a master of long-swords. Veezara likes to get close to his targets for a critical strike but makes certain he is not seen getting close. Festus Krex Race: Imperial. Position: Assassin/ mystical correspondent. Preferred instrument of death: Fire. Preferred method: Fire!. Unique skill set: FIRE!. Voice Actor: Jim Cummings. Festus Krex is an Imperial mage in the Falkreath sanctuary. Before joining the Dark Brotherhood Fetsus was a teacher at the College of Winterhold where he educated other up and coming magi as the Destruction School teacher. Fetsus left the College's employ because his superiors were constantly enforcing the notion of safety again, something he felt only slowed him down, Fetsus also claims that no one at the College understood the glory of the Destruction School. Fetsus has no patience for jobs with special conditions and prefers to handle all his jobs the same way, by lighting everything on fire. Fetsus spends his spare time inventing new enchanted items and perfecting his magic, he has been working on a spell to turn people inside-out for some time. Fetsus is well known for being near impossible to please and criticizes his Dark Brothers' and Sisters' short comings, often looking for imperfections to berate. His difficulty to impress apparently even extended to his personal life and he claims to have murdered his wife for drawing his bathwater a couple of degrees cooler than he asked for. Like Gabirella, Fetsus wants a return to the good old days when the Dark Brotherhood was feared and powerful with an organized hierarchy. Cicero Race: Imperial. Position: Night Mother's Keeper. Preferred instrument of death: Dual Daggers. Preferred method: "Stabstabstabstabstabstabstabstab and then stab stabstabstabstabstabstabstabstab!". Unique skill set: Insanity/Obsessive loyalty. Voice Actor: Andy Morris. The history of Cicero is an odd one and one better left vague. When the authorities first began coming down on the Dark Brotherhood The Black Hand appointed Cicero as the Keeper, guardian of the Night Mother's body. The Listener of the Dark Brotherhood was killed by the authorities and Cicero was given a pass phrase to identify the new Listener once he or she arrived, as only the Night Mother and Cicero would know the phrase Cicero could use the code to identify a new Listener. Cicero spent years smuggling the Night Mother from one hiding place to the next hoping to either come across the Listener or be dubbed Listener himself. Cicero would eventually discover the last of the Dark Brotherhood holed up in a sanctuary in Skyrim and made the journey there. Cicero told Astrid of his precious cargo and who he was but Astrid was uneasy about allowing them haven in her Sanctuary. Cicero demanded that Astrid honor her vows and give the Night Mother her sanctuary as a resting place, Astrid eventually agreed but made it clear her authority was absolute. Cicero is constantly sizing up loyalties of members of the Sanctuary hoping that they were more loyal to the Night Mother than Astrid if Astrid forgot who the true leader of the Dark Brotherhood was. Fetsus and Gabriella were loyal to the Night Mother above all else, Arnbjorn and Veezara were loyal to Astrid above all else and Nazir and Babette respected the Night Mother above their own lives but considered their loyalty to Astrid as their Sanctuary leader. Cicero's stay at the Falkreath sanctuary was an exercise in control of egos and tempers for all those involved, Cicero's own obvious insanity only added to the tense situation. The Five Tenets The Dark Brotherhood lives by five rules for it's members, all rules must be honored or face the wrath of Sithis, or rather the Night Mother's magics acting on behalf of Sithis. Breaking any such rules will result in dark magics that summon evil creatures to discipline the offender. But aside from discipline actions the Dark Brotherhood just plain tends to hold itself to a higher standard than most assassins and so the Tenets are less of a set of rules than an official code of conduct and taken very seriously. The rules are listed as follows. *'Tenet 1': Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. *'Tenet 2': Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. *'Tenet 3': Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. *'Tenet 4': Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. *'Tenet 5': Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Unknown to most members though the third, forth and fifth Tenets may be retracted at a moment's notice by the Night Mother and thus by the Listener if corruption is suspected, at which time ALL suspects are killed to ensure security. Gallery The Dark Brotherhood.jpg|The Dark Brotherhood The Dark Brotherhood Banner.png The Dark Brotherhood Banner.jpg Symbol of the Dark Brotherhood.jpg The Dark Brotherhood Symbol.jpg Seal of the Dark Brotherhood.jpg The Black Sacrament.jpg|The Black Sacrament The Black Door.jpg|The Black Door Category:Cults Category:Fanatics Category:Assassins Category:Dark Forms Category:Organizations Category:Elder Scrolls Villains Category:Fantasy Villains Category:Video Game Villains Category:Protagonists Category:Status Dependent upon Player Choice Category:Friend of a Hero Category:Affably Evil Category:Fighters Category:Contradictory Category:Mercenaries Category:Lawful Evil Category:Evil Vs. Evil Category:Deal Makers Category:Ninjas Category:Dark Priests Category:Families Category:Homicidal Category:Collector of Souls Category:Immortality Seeker Category:Vampires Category:Necromancers Category:Dark Knights Category:Evil from the Past Category:Murderer Category:Vigilante